Enjoy the Spotlight at Pre-Wedding Festivities

Getting married is considered a major turning point in a person's life and there are many different types of celebrations that take place before the big day when you and your partner will say "I do."

While not all of these pre-wedding festivities are mandatory, they do make the experience more complete. At each one of these occasions a different aspect of the new life you're about to begin comes clearly into focus. And each one serves a purpose; it allows your family and friends different ways to show their affection for you.

In modern times these events are far less extensive than they were in the past. In some traditions pre-wedding festivities could begin months before and go on for many days prior to the wedding. And in some cultures there were even post-wedding festivities as well.

Today the most common celebrations before the wedding include; the bridal shower, the bridesmaid’s luncheon, the bachelorette and bachelor party, the groomsmen luncheon and the wedding rehearsal dinner. Several of these events are planned by your family and the members of your bridal party, and many times they come as a complete surprise to the couple that is getting married.

Of all these events probably the most formal is the wedding rehearsal dinner which usually takes place a week or two before the actual wedding day. By this time the reality of all of the months of planning begins to come together. This event gives both of the families an opportunity to express their well wishes to the couple in a more intimate way then they would be able to do at the wedding reception. Because this is a time when only family and close friends are present, emotions easily come to the surface and sentiments are expressed along with premarital advice.

By the time you have your wedding rehearsal dinner, all of the elements for your wedding day should be in place. The next few days ideally are spent on the last minute details such as confirming the transportation to the location where the wedding ceremony and reception will be held, the final fitting for your wedding attire, collecting your wedding rings from your jeweler, preparing the gifts for your bridal party attendants as well as making the last arrangements for your honeymoon getaway.

It may seem as though you have 1,000,001 things to do throughout the planning of your wedding, but don't miss any opportunity to enjoy the spotlight of your special lifetime event. The pre-wedding festivities along with your wedding day are creating the memories you will look back on in the future.